MIAMI – José Padilla, a U.S. citizen held for 3½ years as an enemy combatant, was convicted yesterday of helping Islamic extremists and plotting overseas attacks in a case that came to symbolize the Bush administration’s zeal to clamp down on terrorism.

Padilla, wearing a dark suit and wire-rim glasses, showed no emotion as he heard the verdict, which could bring him a life sentence in prison. One person in the family section started to sob.

When Padilla was arrested in the months following 9/11, authorities touted him as an al Qaeda terrorist who planned to detonate a radioactive “dirty bomb” in a U.S. city. That allegation never made it to court.

Instead, after a three-month trial and a day and a half of deliberations, Padilla, 36, and his foreign-born co-defendants were convicted of conspiracy to murder, kidnap and maim people overseas and two counts of providing material support to terrorists.

U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke set sentencing for Dec. 5.

The three were accused of being part of a North American support cell that provided money and recruits to groups of Islamic extremists. The defense contended they were trying to help persecuted Muslims in war zones with relief and humanitarian aid.

The White House thanked the jury for a “just” verdict.

“We commend the jury for its work in this trial and thank it for upholding a core American principle of impartial justice for all,” said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council.

Estela Lebron, Padilla’s mother, said outside the courthouse, “The winner is George Bush.”

Co-defendants Adham Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi were also found guilty. AP